The Rotaract Club of the University of Toronto, in collaboration with our sister and parent club, the Rotaract Club of Toronto and the Rotary Club of Toronto, are proud to present Purple Pinkies for Polio, a film screening fundraiser for End Polio Now.

For months, we have seen the “This Close” campaign at work. For years, Rotary
International, with the WHO, UNICEF and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention have worked together to eliminate polio. We are 99% of the way
there, but we need you to help eliminate the final 1%.

Invite your friends, family and colleagues, and enjoy a night of networking and fellowship. This film and event may be of special interest to students and faculty in health studies, development and international relations programs. Feel free to take advantage of this invaluable networking opportunity!

When: Friday, January 27, 2012 at 7:30pm (registration at 7:00pm)
Where: TIFF Bell Lightbox – Cinema 4
What: Screening of Benda Belili! - An informal reception will follow the screening
Why: Fundraiser for End Polio Now the Rotary $200 Million Dollar challenge

Tickets are sold online for $30 each. There is a limited number available.

Who: ONE LOVE: U of T Students for Jamaica

What: Bake sale

Time: Tuesday, November 22 · 11:30am – 2:30pm

Location: Sidney Smith Hall, 100 st.George street

Would you like to grab a quick snack? Come visit us at our table to buy tasty snacks and learn more about our club.We will be selling various types of baked goods. All the money will be given to support our brothers and sisters in the town of Riverton Meadows, Jamaica. So if you are passing through Sid Smith come drop by and say hello.

For more information, visit the group’s website or Facebook page.

SAVE THE DATE!
You’re invited to Journalism for Human Rights’ (jhr) annual HOLLERDAY: a day dedicated to raising awareness about sexual violence in the DRC.

When: Tuesday, November 15th from 5-10pm
Where: East Common Room, Hart House
Why: STOP RAPE IN THE CONGO!

This event will feature an interactive HOLLERDAY wall, a workshop, speakers and an education centre featuring different campus groups giving their perspective on the topic of sexual violence in the DRC.

Why do we care about this particular issue? Stories like Clementine’s (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8677637.stm) serve to remind us that this issue is not one that can be ignored and people like her cannot just be left behind or forgotten.

HOLLERDAY is jhr’s chapter flagship awareness building event for 2011.  Students from  universities across Canada participate collectively in a day of action to “holler” about human rights issues.  2011’s focus is human rights issues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Students will use their voices publicly through creative expression about human rights.

Here is the Facebook event – check it out! https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=267179723316093

About jhr: We are a collective of inspired, approachable and enthusiastic individuals. We are worldly without pretense, knowledgeable, inclusive, inquisitive and most importantly – we passionately believe in positive change. Our entrepreneurial, can-do spirit is focused on making positive contributions to the quality of life of others as well as achieving success and fulfillment in our own lives.
jhr is Canada’s largest international media development organization. Our goal – to make everyone in the world fully aware of their rights – is as unique as it is powerful. jhruoft.org

Juxtaposition Global Health Magazine is a University of Toronto student-run publication which produces two issues annually focusing on global health issues. This year, Juxtaposition is reaching out to students to submit their own articles and get informed through a new social networking initiative helmed by their new administrative associate and social networker, Molly McGillis, who I was happy to sit down with to talk to about the magazine.

Give me a bit of background about Juxtaposition.

Juxtaposition was founded in 2004 by Kadia Petricca and Michelle Chakkalackal here at U of T. Kadia is actually back this year as Editor-in-Chief of the Editorial Division while she finishes up her PhD in Global Health Policy. They sought to create a forum to engage student interest in addressing global health issues from a multidisciplinary lens. The magazine was originally published in an online format, but through a number of partnerships and collaborations with college, departments and research bodies on and off campus, was able to secure funds over the past four years to become print.

The name ‘Juxtaposition’ comes from the verb ‘to juxtapose’, which is the act of placing two or more things side by side. Wherever possible, Juxtaposition seeks to include contrasting perspectives on global health issues in a wider social, economic, political, and legal context. All issues aim to highlight pertinent and controversial topics in the field of global health through the perspectives of students, researchers and alumni at U of T and beyond. The latest Spring 2011 issue, ‘Movers and Shakers’, offered perspectives from those working abroad of the ethics and challenges of working in the field. In particular, Dr. Raghu Venngopal provided an account of his experiences with Doctors Without Borders in addition to a photo essay by Charlotte Hunter, who documented her experiences in one Namibian Hospital confronting the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Why should students be interested in the magazine?

We live in a global society, meaning that events and phenomena that happen across the globe will ultimately impact us all in some way. The magazine provides insight into critical topics that have long-term implications on society, politics, and economics, and we hope that the magazine will inspire readers to seek further information and try to make change.

Furthermore, it’s important for me to add that the scope of the magazine isn’t limited to third-world issues: it’s global health. For instance, the most recent issue contains articles about psychological issues, pollution, and health care reform in North America. They’re issues that affect us, and issues we can try to do something about no matter where they are rooted.

Where can students find Juxtaposition on the web?

Juxtaposition has a website where one can find all of our current and past publications, as well as calls for submissions: www.juxtaposition.sa.utoronto.ca. We also have a Twitter feed which will aim to broadcast global health-related events occurring on and off campus, as well as updates about the magazine and submission calls: www.twitter.com/juxtamagazine. We will follow you back! Look out for more links as we expand our social networking through our Twitter feed.

What are you looking for in terms of submissions, and when and where should they be sent?

For submissions, the deadline for the upcoming issue is October 21, and there are a lot of topics which writers can consider publishing, including articles on bio-technology, peace and conflict, and healthcare policy. Please visit our website for submission guidelines!

Thanks to Molly and Juxtaposition Global Health Magazine.

Everyone is welcome to attend the Heart & Stroke Foundation – U of T Chapter’s first General Meeting of the year. Whether you’re looking to get involved with an amazing organization or just want something to do, we encourage you to come on out, learn more about us, and meet some new friends.

Post written by Shakeera Baker, President.

One Love is a Ulife-recognized student group that seeks to raise awareness of, and help, the impoverished families of Riverton Meadows – a shantytown in Kingston, Jamaica – through cultural fundraising events on campus. As stated on the group’s website, ‘Riverton is situated next to a landfill from which scraps are scavenged and used as building materials for many of the dwellings in this community. Although hundreds of families in Riverton live without running water and sewage disposal, the people of Riverton have great pride in their strength and resilience to adversity. ONE LOVE seeks to not only promote these strengths, but to additionally help provide the funds necessary for the development and advancement of the community.’

In fostering a general atmosphere of helping others, we hold regular volunteer outreach sessions in the community, in which all group members are encouraged to participate. Also, every year, members of ONE LOVE have the opportunity to volunteer in Jamaica and work with people living in Riverton with the support of our parent organization, Students Crossing Borders.

For more information, check out the group’s Facebook page or official website, or email the group at onelove.uoft@gmail.com.

La semaine dernière notre merveilleuse Anna vous a introduit à EFUT, le club français de l’UofT. Aujourd’hui je voudrais vous parler d’une autre organisation francophone dont vous n’avez pas peut-être entendu. Savez-vous ce que c’est la SPECQUE?

Mes chers amis, la SPECQUE c’est la Simulation du parlement européen Canada-Québec-Europe. Ne vous laissez pas être détournés par le mot “parliament” (ou “simulation”, ou quoi que ce soit). En fait la SPECQUE présente à chacun une opportunité inoubliable de pousser ses limites, apprendre beacoup sur le monde et les actualités, et finalement voyager et rencontrer des gens inspirants!

Il s’agit d’une semaine intense passée en débats, en commissions, en sessions plénières…on dort peu, on boit beaucoup de caffé…On joue le rôle d’un eurodéputé au sein du parlement européen, ou bien un commissaire qui propose une pièce de législation, ou un rapporteur qui la critique dans son rapport. On peut également être un lobbyiste, un journaliste, un photographe, le président de commission – il y a plein de rôles pour tous les goûts! Donc si vous vous intéressez aux questions de politique européen, la SPECQUE est pour vous!

Elle est peut-être plus chère aux canadiens qu’aux autres, parce que elle a été fondée au Québec en 1998. C’est vrai, la simulation du parlement européen a été proposée par une étudiante de l’Université Laval. La SPECQUE a lieu dans un endroit different chaque an, alternativement en Europe et au Canada. Cet été la ville hôte était Luxembourg, tandis qu’en 2012 Montréal aura ce privilège.

Voilà ce que le site web officiel de la SPECQUE en dit:

“En tant que simulation parlementaire, la SPECQUE permet à ses participants de se développer. Les qualités oratoires, le sens de l’initiative et de la négociation, l’art de la persuasion ainsi que la capacité à analyser en profondeur des questions sensibles, et les aborder sous un angle législatif, sont certaines compétences que la SPECQUE permet de cultiver. La Simulation permet aussi à ses participants d’élargir leurs horizons par la découverte de jeunes issus de milieux et de cultures différentes. Cette découverte, et l’ouverture d’esprit qui en découle, sont d’une valeur inestimable dans le contexte de mondialisation que nous connaissons actuellement.”

Je pourrai ajouter de ma part que je n’aurai jamais imaginé combien la SPECQUE pourrait être intéressante, stimulante et comment elle peut créer une dépendence. Si on y participe une fois, on veut retourner, c’est sûr!

Alors, si vous croyez que la SPECQUE c’est pour vous, contactez-moi pour plus de détails.

Le batîment de la commission européenne où la SPECQUE se déroulait cet été. Je mens pas quand je dis que c’est impressionnant!